Eyeshields



Aug. 21, 1962 R. F. E. STEGEMAN 3,049,716

7 EYESHIELDS Filed Nov. 10, 1960 INVENTOR. R-F. E. STEGEMAN .ATTORNBY.

3,949,716 EYESIMLDS Raymond F. E. Stegeman, Greece, N.Y., assignor to Bausch & Lamb Incorporated, Rochester, N.Y., a corporation of New York Filed Nov. 10, 1960, Ser. No. 68,478 4 Claims. (Cl. 214) This invention relates to improvements in eyeshields such as the kind which are used for outdoor athletic actlvities.

It is an object of this invention to provide an improved eyeshield of the integrally molded type having an easily interchangeable lens panel, said eyeshield being simple and strong in structure, comfortable and safe to wear, and having a low manufacturing cost while being of good appearance.

Further objects and advantages will be apparent in the details of construction and arrangement and combination of parts by reference to the specification herebelow taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a plan view partly broken away of a preferred form of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a frontal view of the invention; and

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken on the line 33 of FIG. 2 showing a part of the eyeshield as manufactured and having a part thereof disassembled.

With reference to the drawing, a preferred form of an eyeshield is shown comprising a visor member 11 and a lens panel member 12, the lens panel being demountably held .or secured by separable attachment means on the visor member. The visor member 11 is a self-supporting structure preferably molded from resinous plastic or rubber-like material which is preferably opaque, flexible and deformable so that the visor is comfortable to wear and conforms to the head of the wearer. For the purpose of excluding the suns rays, the visor member 11 is constructed with a broad normally flat top surface 11' extending forwardly from the wearer and is closely fitted about the forehead and temples of the wearer by means of a flexible and conformable headband 13 which is formed integrally with said member. For purposes of improving flexibility, said headband 13 is inclined rearwardly at a considerable angle to the surface 11' of the visor so that it is easily deflected in adjusting to the shape of the wearers forehead and temples. Rearwardly of the temporal portions of the visor member 11, the headband 13 is tapered and reduced in transverse dimensions where the visor member is extended over the ears of the wearer.

At the rear portions 14, 15 of the visor member 11, means are provided for holding the eyeshield on the face of the wearer and these means may take any prefer-red form, such as the integrally molded straps 16 which extend around and encircle the head and are adjustably held together by a buckle 17. The visor member 11 is provided with side faces 17 and 18 which are flared outwardly from their junction with the rear portions 14 and 15, and accordingly, the span between the side faces increases to a maximum at the front where the sides blend into the forward edge 19 of the visor member 11, the maximum span being considerably greater than the distance between portions 14 and 15.

According to this invention, as best shown in FIG. 1, a depending flange 20 is formed along the front edge 19 of the visor member 11. The primary function of the flange 29 is to support a detachable lens panel thereon and the flange also functions to somewhat reinforce and stiffen the front edge 19 of the visor member. This flange 20 extends along the cuived front edge 19 between the extreme outer parts of the front of the visor member and the flange is furthermore rearwardly or obliquely inclined toward the face of the wearer for purposes of positioning the lens panel properly.

As above mentioned, a lens panel 23 is detachably or interchangeably secured on the flange 20, the lens panel being a sheet of transparent plastic material which is curved from side to side to fit the curved shape of the flange 29. When the eyeshield 10 is attached on the wearers face, the normally flat top surface 11' and the top edge of the lens panel 12 which is parallel thereto may actually become arched somewhat in accommodating to the shape of the face of the wearer. A seating surface 22 is provided on the front face of the flange 20 against which the panel is secured and said surface is inclined backwardly like the flange so as to hold the panel in an oblique position whereby wind deflection and rigidity of the eyeshield is improved. Since the seating surface 22 for the lens panel 23 is not only inclined toward the rear but is also formed as a curved shape conforming to the front edge 19 of the visor member 11, the rigidity of the panel is greatly augmented when the eyeshield is assembled and secured in operative position on the forehead.

It will be noted that the outermost parts 30, 31 of the lens panel extend at least as far outwardly as the greatest span of the side parts 17 and 18 of the visor member and, accordingly, the lens panel covers the wearers face effectively to deflect the wind stream even though the user turns his head to a considerable degree.

At the center of lens panel 12 a deep notch 24 is formed to accommodate the wearers nose and at either side of the notch the lens panel extends downwardly and backwardly at portions 25, 26 into proximity with the cheeks of the wearer. At least along the lower and side edges of the portions 25, 26 of the lens panel 12, a rolled edge or bead 12 is formed to protect the wearers face in case of contact with said edges. As already mentioned, the lens panel 12 is demountably attached to the visor member 11 by separable fastening means of any preferred form, such as a plurality of two-part separable fasteners 27, one part of which is fixed to the flange 20 and the companion part is fixed to the contiguous portion of the lens panel 12. When the parts are so assembled, the above mentioned rigidity of the lens panel is assured. Describing this feature in another way, when the lens panel 12 is firmly held against the curved seating surface 22, the visor member and the lens panel mutually support and shape each other.

It should be emphasized that a further advantage of the aforementioned inclination of the lens panel 12 with respect to the visor member 11 is that said inclination provides a very ample space underneath the visor member for the accommodation of spectacles while allowing very little clearance space where the panel nears the wearers cheeks so as to prevent annoying eddy gusts from reachin g the eyes.

One of the further advantages of this eyeshield lies in the fact that the ventilation from side to side of the visor is free and open which minimizes the accumulation of fog on the eye panel 12.

The above-described construction of an eyeshield is particularly advantageous with regard to the cost of manufacture by reason of the fact that only two separate parts principally enter into its construction. The replacement of the lens panels 12 by various selected gradations and colorations of lens panels to suit the fancy of the wearer is very desirable and is necessary in many circumstances of use. Furthermore, the construction is sufiiciently secure and strong to resist accidental blows and hard usage and will act as a sturdy guard for those who are skiing through wooded lots, or like circumstances, and it will be apparent to those skilled in this art that 3 although only a preferred embodiment of the invention has been shown and described in detail, various modifications and changes may be made in the arrangement and construction of the parts of this invention without departing from the spirit of the invention as described in the claims here appended.

What is claimed is:

1. An eyeshield for wind protection and the like com-- prising an integral visor member formed from flexible material so as to extend from temple to temple across and in contact with the forehead of the wearer, said member having a substantially flat visor element adapted -to extend straightforwardly and terminating at the front in 21 depending stiffening flange which is formed at an acute angle to said element integrally thereon, a curved seating surface formed on the front side of said flange, an interchangeable lens panel curved to fit said seating surface and covering the eyes of the wearer and formed of transparent flexible material, said lens panel extending obliquely downwardly and rearwardly so that the lower edge thereof is in close proximity to the checks of the wearer, separable fastener means cooperatively formed on the contiguous parts of said flange and panel to secure the panel in curved shape against said seating surface, and strap means for holding the eyeshield in operative position on the wearers face, the straightforward arrangement of the visor element serving to provide a maximum of protection and ventilation in the immediate vicinity of the eyes of the wearer.

2. An eyeshield constructed according to claim 1 wherein the side faces of the visor flare progressively outwardly from the temporal parts to their junctures with the frontal parts thereof, the extreme spanwise ends of said lens panel being adjacent to said junctures which are spaced farther from each other than said temporal parts so as to deflect the wind away from the eyes of the 'wearer when the eyeshield is turned somewhat to one side.

3. An eyeshield for wind protection and the like comprising an integral visor member formed from flexible and deformable material, said member extending straightforwardly from and across the forehead of the wearer from temple to temple, the profile shape of the forward edge of said visor member being backwardly curved and the forwardly extending portion of said member being substantially flat, a stiffening flange formed integral with and underlying said forward edge, said flange having an obliquely inclined seating surface formed on the curved front side thereof adjacent to said edge, an interchangeable lens panel formed of transparent and resilient sheet ma terial, said panel extending across the face of the wearer and having an arcuate upper edge which is shaped to match the curved shape of the forward edge of said visor member when assembled thereon, the angle of backward inclination of said panel being an acute angle with respect to said member and being such as to bring the lower edge of said lens panel into close proximity with the cheeks of the wearer while providing a wide clearance from the eyes at the top thereof, separable fastening means cooperatively formed on said stiifening flange and said lens panel to demountably secure the panel in contact with said seating surface, and a pair of strap-like extensions formed integrally on the rearmost parts of said visor member in substantial alignment with said forwardly extending portion thereof so as to facilitate integral molding, the free ends of the strap-like extensions being held together to retain the eyeshield on the forehead.

4. An eyeshield constructed according to claim 3 and being further characterized by a headband flange formed integrally at a rearwardly inclined angle to and on said forwardly extending portion so that an edge thereof bears yieldably against the wearers forehead around the frontand temporal sides thereof.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS August 21, 1962 Patent No. 3,049,716

Raymond F. E. ,Stegeman above numbered patppears in the hould read as ed that error a id Letters Patent 5 It is hereby certifi nd that the se.

ent requiring correction a corrected below.

Column 3, line 21,

ed and sealed this 26th da for "checks" read cheeks Sign y of February 1963.

(SEAL) Attest:

ESTON G. JOHNSON DAVID L. LADD Commissioner of Patents Attesting Officer 

